Resident Sculptor
Hotel Belmond
La Residencia
Deià, Mallorca
Spain
Juan Waelder
Born in Santiago de Chile
Based in Deià, Mallorca (Spain)
E-mail: juanwaelder2[at]gmail.com
Based in Deià, Mallorca (Spain)
E-mail: juanwaelder2[at]gmail.com
Juan has been teaching sculpture for over a decade, and at Hotel Belmond La Residencia, he teaches students of all ages how to sculpt while creating a supportive and fun learning environment. For Juan, sculpting is an art form that requires creativity and imagination. And a means to express oneself! His students appreciate his patience and ability to explain things in a way that is easy to understand. But best of all, they all leave with an appreciation for the art of sculpture!
He conducts classes for children and adults in his new studio, The Cottage, located just above the hotel entrance with beautiful views of Deià.
Juan also organizes personalized guided visits to the hotel's Café Miró Collection and Sculpture Garden (whose pieces are available for purchase) and the Poet's Walk. And in Palma, to the Joan Miró Foundation, art museums, and galleries.
Juan Waelder (Santiago de Chile) was the youngest member of the “Grup Dimecres" (The Wednesday Group), which was founded in Mallorca in 1975 by the painter Miquel Brunet and which included renowned artists of the period, such as Ellis Jacobson, Ritch Miller, John Ulbricht, Rafel Amengual, Juli Ramis and Bartomeu Riera Bassa. Juan Waelder actively participated in the Wednesday gatherings as an artist and a multifaceted designer, photographer, and filmmaker, documenting this vital period of Mallorcan culture. Sponsored by the Caja Mediterráneo and the Town Hall of Palma, a "Grup Dimecres" anthology took place in Palma de Mallorca in 2011.
During this same period, Galería Pelaires (Palma) commissioned him to create graphics and documentary films for Joan Miró and the American artists John Ulbricht and Rich Miller as principal subjects. In his ceramic and sculpture studio in La Bonanova, he worked with architects to create some of the most avant-garde pieces of the period. As an art teacher at the Balearic International School, Juan transformed what had been a garage into the Centre d’Art Joan Miró. Once again, the collaboration of the Galería Pelaires made possible the inauguration of the art center with the original work of the “Serie Mallorca” by the great Catalan artist who for many years resided in Mallorca.
During the last two decades of the 20th century, Juan Waelder dedicated himself to advertising as a creative director in Madrid, Los Angeles, and New York. His prolific career garnished international awards in print, radio, and film.
Always with his feet on both continents, it was only natural that his first art exhibit of the 21st century take place in the USA in West Palm Beach, Florida. The group exhibit “The Celebration of the Arts” inaugurated the Galerías Prinardi USA in 2005, where he exhibited paintings and ceramic sculptures. In 2006, he participated in the show “New Figurative Art” at the Galerías Prinardi in San Juan, Puerto Rico. With a series of bronze sculptures based on the concept of women and architecture, Juan Waelder participated in the group show “Art x 6” in 2009 with the artists Luis Bermejo, Daniel Codorniu, Menéndez Rojas, Rif Spanhi and Marga Nicolau thus, inaugurating the art gallery Sampol Sampol in Palma.
Surprisingly versatile, Juan Waelder´s sculptures evolve rapidly. While classical techniques dominate the central body of his work, the sculpture "Bag" is an ode to simplicity. His work is to be enjoyed from all angles, and the viewer becomes a spectator of his wonderful imaginary world. According to the internationally respected North American sculptress Betty Gold, “Juan has developed what is most important in an artist´s career: a style of his own, unique and personal.”
Presently, Juan Waelder has a permanent exhibit of bronze sculptures in Belmond La Residencia in Deia, Mallorca, which are available for purchase. As a resident sculptor, he works on-site at the hotel, offering sculpting classes and art consultant services. An experienced teacher, he welcomes students of all ages to join his classes or pass by for an informal chat. According to Juan Waelder, "Art is more feeling than knowledge."
Tireless in his exploration of sculpture, Juan Waelder knows no limits on the dimensions of his imagination and also creates large murals, which displays his skill on an area of several meters.
Based on the island of Mallorca for most of his life, the island has been and continues to be a source of artistic inspiration.